The present invention is directed to horticultural substrates treated with a particulate membrane and methods for controlling pests associated with such substrates and for providing enhanced horticultural effects.
The prior art has discussed the use of certain inert particulate solids as insecticides, see for example; Driggers, B. F., xe2x80x9cExperiments with Talc and Other Dusts Used Against Recently Hatched Larvae of the Oriental and Codling Moths,xe2x80x9d J. Econ. Ent., 22 327-334 (1929); Hunt, C. R., xe2x80x9cToxicity of Insecticide Dust Diluents and Carriers to Larvae of the Mexican Bean Beetle,xe2x80x9d J. Econ. Ent., 40 215-219 (1947); P. Alexander, J. A. Kitchener and H. V. A. Briscoe, xe2x80x9cInert Dust Insecticides,xe2x80x9d Parts I, II, and III, Ann. Appl. Biol., 31 143-159, (1944); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,159,536 (1964) and U.S. Pat. No.5,122,518 (1992), each of which is incorporated herein by reference with regard to its teachings relating to particulate materials.
Plant diseases are caused by various pathogens, e.g., fungi, bacteria and virus, and these diseases have generally been controlled commercially by the use of chemical pesticides. For example, commercial fungicides generally belong to the following types of chemical compounds: inorganic (copper or sulfur based), organic (anilines, anilides, dithiocarbamates, halogen compounds and heterocyclic nitrogen compounds), antibiotics and biologicals. Chemically toxic fungicides and bactericides are often formulated with inert particulates. Inert particulates, however, have been shown to be ineffective toward these plant pests when applied by themselves (see W. O. Cline and R. D. Milholland, xe2x80x9cRoot Dip Treatments for Controlling Blueberry Stem Blight Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea in Container-Grown Nursery Plants,xe2x80x9d Plant Disease 76 136-138 (1992)). Furthermore, not only have inert particulates been shown to be ineffective in plant disease control, but it has been reported by S. K. Bhattacharyya and M. K. Basu, xe2x80x9cKaolin Powder as a Fungal Carrier,xe2x80x9d Appl. Envir. Microbic. 44 751-753 (1982) that kaolin powder may be used to carry and preserve an Aspergillus sp. for at least 90 days. In another report, S. M. Lipson and G. Stotzky, xe2x80x9cEffect of Kaolinite on the Specific Infectivity of Reovirus,xe2x80x9d FEMS Micr. Let. 37 83-88 (1986), it was reported that the infectivity of enteric viruses (e.g., poliovirus, rotavirus and reovirus) is prolonged when these viruses are adsorbed on naturally occurring particulates (sediments, clay materials) in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
O. Ziv and R. A. Frederiksen, xe2x80x9cThe Effect of Film-forming Anti-transpirants on Leaf Rust and Powdery Mildew Incidence on Wheat,xe2x80x9d Plant Path. 36 242-245 (1987); M. Kamp, xe2x80x9cControl of Erysiphe cichoracearum on Zinnia elegans, with a Polymer-based Antitranspirant,xe2x80x9d Hort. Sci. 20 879-881 (1985); and J. Zekaria-Oren and Z. Eyal, xe2x80x9cEffect of Film-forming Compounds on the Development of Leaf Rust on Wheat Seedlings,xe2x80x9d Plant Dis. 75 231-234 (1991)) discuss the use of anti-transpirant polymer films to control disease. Of course, the use of anti-transpirants is undesirable because they reduce the exchange of necessary gases on the surface of living plants.
For prior art regarding horticultural effects see, for example, Byers, R. E., K. S. Yoder, and G. E. Mattus, xe2x80x9cReduction in Russetting of xe2x80x98Golden Deliciousxe2x80x99 Apples with 2,4,5-TP and Other Compounds,xe2x80x9d HortScience 18:63-65); Byers, R. E., D. H. Carbaugh, and C. N. Presley, xe2x80x9cxe2x80x98Staymanxe2x80x99 Fruit Cracking as Affected by Surfactants, Plant Growth Regulators, and Other Chemicals,xe2x80x9d J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 115:405-411 (1990); Durner, E. F., and T. J. Gianfagna, xe2x80x9cPeach Pistil Growth Inhibition and Subsequent Bloom Delay by Midwinter Bud Whitewashing,xe2x80x9d HortScience 25:1222-1224 (1990); and M. N. Westwood, Temperate-zone Pomology, page 313 W. H. Freeman and Co. (1978).
Therefore, there is still a need for cost effective inert, nontoxic improved agents for pest control and for enhanced horticultural effects and methods for their use.
This invention relates to horticultural substrates where the surface of said substrates is coated with a particulate membrane and to methods for pest control and enhanced horticultural effects by forming said membrane on the surface of the horticultural substrate.
In one embodiment, this invention relates to coated substrates comprising a horticultural substrate wherein the surface of said substrate is coated with a membrane comprising one or more particulate layers, said layers comprising one or more particulate materials, said particulate materials being finely divided, and wherein said membrane allows for the exchange of gases on the surface of said substrate.
In another embodiment, this invention relates to a method for pest control on horticultural substrates which comprises forming on the surface of said substrate a membrane comprising one or more particulate layers, said layers comprising one or more particulate materials, said particulate materials being finely divided, and wherein said membrane allows for the exchange of gases on the surface of said substrate.
In still another embodiment, this invention relates to a method for providing enhanced horticultural effects which comprises forming on the surface of a horticultural substrate a membrane comprising one or more particulate layers, said layers comprising one or more particulate materials, said particulate materials being finely divided, and wherein said membrane allows for the exchange of gases on the surface of said substrate.